VOSTOCHNY SPACEPORT /Amur Region/, September 13. /TASS/. The 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War (1950-1953) is a landmark date and an appropriate occasion to recall the history of how the USSR helped the DPRK in its struggle for independence, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"We will also celebrate very soon the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War and the victory of the North Korean people in this war. This is a landmark date because our country also helped our friends in the DPRK fight for [their] independence," Putin said.

"I would like to remind you that it was our country that was the first to recognize the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a sovereign, independent state," Putin emphasized.

The Korean War started on June 25, 1950 and ended on July 27, 1953 (de facto as no peace treaty has ever been signed). In addition to North Korea and South Korea, the conflict involved Chinese volunteers fighting on the side of Pyongyang and the US Army fighting under the UN flag on the side of Seoul. Pyongyang was also supported by the USSR. The war ended with an armistice, but a peace treaty has yet to be signed.